Between the charm, the picturesque location and the five star service, it is little wonder that weddings here are extremely popular. Medieval features, roaring fires in winter, wood panelled walls and award-winning food, makes for exquisite occasions, whether it’s for two or 100 people to enjoy.

The name doesn’t lie. There’s plenty of good cheer, from falcons to fireworks, for guests at this 19th-century mansion. With four rooms for civil ceremonies, and a host of atmospheric local churches, celebrations can embrace the main house or use a marquee for large parties.

From the landscaped gardens with ‘a five-star view’ over Rutland Water to the Michelin-starred dining, Tim and Stefa Hart’s acclaimed hotel nails English country house excellence.

‘A most beautiful building in lovely, peaceful grounds with a wooded walk down to the river,’ say Guide insiders of the Murray family’s splendid stone manor house.

Readers are ‘unable to fault anything at all’ at this ivy-clad country house hotel on the edge of the New Forest, ‘the ultimate luxurious and indulgent treat’.

The Francis family’s charismatic hotel, with many historic features, continues to please regulars, mainly for its ‘superb’ hilltop location, genial service and tip-top seafood.

It’s all about the sublime seaside setting at Keith Makepeace’s family-centric, dog-friendly hotel with ‘amazing views to take your breath away’.

Overlooking the racecourse and surrounded by gardens and parkland, this gem of a William and Mary house with its ‘stunning exterior’ feels deeply rural yet is just over a mile from York.

A photographer’s dream, this Elizabethan manor house stands in gardens and parkland, with mountain views. A spa, oak-panelled drawing room, romantic four-poster suite, stone cottages with roses round the door. . . What more could you ask?

Behind a Georgian facade, Lawrence Hoskins’s rambling coaching inn, with beams, wood panelling and ‘elegant period windows’, embodies the remains of far older buildings.

Traditional and cosy, it’s a storybook location for a wedding, catering for anything from two to 60 guests in the hotel restaurant, up to 90 extending across to the conservatory or up to 150 guests in a marquee in the grounds.

This country hotel ticks all the boxes – historic building, beautiful gardens, smart bedrooms, relaxed dining, spa and pool – while retaining a homely feel.

It’s much easier to enjoy the ‘exceptional wine list’ and elegant interiors of this ivy-clad town house hotel, owned by a Master of Wine and an interior designer, now that the new A14 bypasses the town, cutting down traffic noise, and a great benefit for the terrace and lovely garden in the warmer months.

With its towers and battlements, wood-panelled walls and ornate ceilings, this Victorian-folly castle set in acres of grounds still manages to be ‘very relaxed; we never felt we had to be on our best behaviour’.

The property is ideal for elegant country weddings - accommodating up to 60 people for ceremonies in the barn and 80 people for receptions, the day is complete with award-winning dining and a bar serving a selection of more than 150 gins!

Up to 75 people can attend your garden wedding ceremony in the Gazebo at this smart hotel (smaller gatherings in the lounge, garden room and conservatory restaurant). You want a Daimler? A magician? A string quartet? They have the contacts.

On the idyllic shores of Loch Shiel, with views of Ben Nevis, this old stone mansion has a traditional, romantic air. Panelled walls are hung with paintings; there are log fires, fresh flowers, and Scottish meals cooked with a French twist. Whether you want a small civil ceremony, a sit-down meal for 50 or a marquee on the lawn, a coordinator will help plan the day. Book a cruise on the loch, bring the band, and make a floating ceilidh of it.

Lord Byron married Annabella Milbanke at this Georgian mansion turned spa hotel. The union didn’t fare well, but the hotel’s wedding packages, named after their brilliant daughter, Ada Lovelace, include everything from use of the ballroom to champagne.

Whether you stay in the Victorian lodge in Abergavenny Castle grounds, in the former stables, or in the main building, William Griffiths’s Georgian coaching inn on the edge of the Brecon Beacons continues to impress.

Queen Victoria thought of Italy as she viewed the ‘red cliffs and rocks and wooded hills’ that surround pebbly Babbacombe Bay, and for la dolce vita look no further than this spa hotel.

The River Nith ripples past the garden of Jane and Ian McAndrew’s old manse and gastronomic destination, in a rolling landscape with views to the Lowther hills.

A sense of old-world elegance where ‘style is a central feature’ can be found in this independent boutique hotel not far from the cathedral.

There is space for up to 65 guests to attend a ceremony, while the grounds would accommodate a marquee for up to 120 guests at your reception. Smaller receptions can also take place inside the hotel with guests enjoying the chance to roam from the bar to the snug.

Studied eccentricity abounds at this Georgian house on the market square with most rooms styled on a geographic theme – and a hairdresser and boutique on site.